sailing extravaganza, with a stellar field set to do battle in the picturesque setting of Hamilton Harbour, October 17-24.

Defending champion Russell Coutts of New Zealand, who defeated American Paul Cayard during a hotly contested final last year, heads a field containing six of the top ten sailors on the Omega World Match Race Sailing ranking list.

The Kiwi, known for his tactical genius and gritty determination, currently sits at the top of the rankings with 14,205 points, 1,645 more than nearest challenger Chris Dickson, also of New Zealand.

Sadly however, Dickson, a winner here in 1987 and `89 and a semifinalist last year will not be boarding any of the local International One Design boats as he has opted instead to compete in the prestigious Whitbred Race around the world that starts in September.

Still, there are the likes of Peter Gilmour (Australia), Rod Davis (New Zealand), Ed Baird (United States) and Chris Law (Great Britain) among a select group of yachtsman with over 9,000 points, who will be out in search of the $30,000 winners cheque.

Each of the above are seeded skippers -- all automatically qualify for the first round -- with the remaining two being former winner Eddie Warden-Owen and Kevin Mahaney of the US.

"This is probably going to be the biggest and most competitive Omega Gold Cup we've had,'' exclaimed Scott McLeod, of event organisers Sail Sports International, based in Stamford, Connecticut. "The line-up is the who's who of yachting ... the Michael Jordans of sailing. It's just an incredible field we have assembled.'' Indeed, Bermuda is proving a veritable mecca for the world's top sailors, a point emphasized by the fact that 12 Americas Cup syndicates are represented, which McLeod noted as being a "major coup''.

Included are Nippon , the Japanese challengers, who have Makoto Namba and Robert Fry appearing as non-seeds, while Davis is due to take the helm of One Australia in May of 1995 and then there is Cayard, who skippered beaten finalist, Italy's Il Moro di Venezia last year.

"This (Omega Gold Cup) is a big training ground ... it's an Americas Cup preview,'' continued McLeod. "This is a huge event and the response has been incredible.

"We're really happy with how things are going.'' Such has been the interest for the regatta that in addition to the 16 paid entries, which were accepted, eight others had to be placed on a waiting list, this despite a $1,000 entry fee.

Two skippers will represent Bermuda, however, they will have to earn a berth during the Bank of Bermuda Cup that has the finalists been sponsored by the bank into the qualifying round.

Peter Bromby and Martin Siese made it through last year, with Bromby in particular showing his class against the throng of foreign experts.

The Bermudian was eventually eliminated by Coutts during the semifinals. Siese had earlier lost to Dickson in the first round.

Another overseas entrant will arise from the Knickerbocker Cup to be held on the Labour Day weekend in New York.

PAUL CAYARD -- Amongst the 24 sailors confirmed for the Omega Gold Cup.